Cooling bed apparatus

ABSTRACT

A movable rack cooling bed for receiving hot metal strands from a rolling mill and having a dual strand run-in table and means for selectively transferring a strand from either portion of the run-in table to cooling bed holding notches for single or twostep transfer by the cooling bed carry-over mechanism. A packing mechanism is provided for forming packs of flat metal strands in one of the holding pockets of the cooling bed after which the pack may be transferred across the cooling bed where an unpacking mechanism is provided for automatically unscrambling the strand pack and for transferring individual strands to shuffle bars for removal. When strands are received by both run-in table positions, means are provided for sensing the position of successive strands and for removing strands individually from each run-in position if the time lapse between strands at each position is too great to permit both strands to be removed together without interference with succeeding strands at either position.

'United States Patent [191 Turner [451 Nov. 4, 1975 COOLING BEDAPPARATUS [75] Inventor: John F. Turner, West Lawn, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Birdsboro Corporation [22] Filed: May 9, 1974 [21] Appl.No.: 468,373

Primary Examiner-C. W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-E. M. Combs Attorney,Agent, or FirmFred Wiviott [57] ABSTRACT A movable rack cooling bed forreceiving hot metal strands from a rolling mill and having a dual strandrun-in table and means for selectively transferring a strand from eitherportion of the run-in table to cooling bed holding notches for single ortwo-step transfer by the cooling bed carry-over mechanism. A packingmechanism is provided for forming packs of flat metal strands in one ofthe holding pockets of the cooling bed after which the pack may betransferred across the cooling bed where an unpacking mechanism isprovided for automatically unscrambling the strand pack and fortransferring individual strands to shuffle bars for removal. Whenstrands are received by both run-in table positions, means are providedfor sensing the position of successive strands and for removing strandsindividually from each run-in position if the time lapse between strandsat each position is too great to permit both strands to be removedtogether without interference with succeeding strands at eitherposition.

45 Claims, 23 Drawing Figures US. atent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of8 3,16,

4 6 hn M l L 1 L L U I l FIG-3 U.S. atent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 3 of 83,916,660

U. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 4 of8 3,916,660

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 5 of 8 3,916,660

Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 6 of 8 FIG-8 U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet70f8 3,916,660

39 D D 70 73 A 73 cime co 9 7O F1691.

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US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 8 of8 3,916,660

SHEAR SHEAR HoT METAL HOT METAL -30] DETECTOR DETECTOR TIME V302 T EN303 DELAY DELAY UPPER LovvER KICK-OFF KICK- OFF MECHANISM MECHANISMLOGIC -3oe ME CIRCUIT DELAY CARRY ovER oRERAToR COOLING BED APPARATUSBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In conventional steel mills, steel isgenerally rolled into long strands having a particular cross-sectionobtained by selecting a particular form of roll used to shape the metal.The strands of metal, which may be in excess of 300 feet in length,usually exit the final roll at an elevated temperature. Equipment maybeprovided for transporting the metal strands within the mill forfurther processing. Cooling beds are commonly used to transport metalstrands laterally of the direction of strand travel from the rolls andalso provide for air cooling of the strands as they aretransportedacross the cooling bed. Conventionally, a run-in table isprovided for receiving the metal strands from the rolling mill. Akick-off mechanism may be provided at the run-in table to transfer thestrands onto the cooling bed. After the strands are traversed across thecooling bed, they may be transferred by shuffle bars to a run-out tablefor further processing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide anapparatus for cooling hot metal strands in steel mills.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cooling bedapparatus which is operable to receive and transfer a single strand ortwo strands simultaneously.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cooling bed which canreceive and transfer two strands simultaneously without interferencewith trailing strands.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedapparatus for delivering elongate metallic strands to a single-sidedcooling bed from a pair of inlet positions.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide means forsimultaneously transferring a pair of metallic strands to a single-sidedcooling bed wherein there is no interference with succeeding strands.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a cooling bedassembly with means for stacking a plurality of elongated metallicstrands for simultaneous transport across the bed and for unstacking thestrands at the discharge end of the bed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cooling bed assembly forcooling and the lateral displacement of elongate metallic strands whichis capable of laterally displacing a single or a pair of strands inseparate pockets of the cooling bed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a cooling bed inwhich strand travel is across single or alternate cooling bed pockets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedmechanism for unscrambling a pack of strands at the discharge end of acooling bed assembly.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the detailed description taken with theaccompanying drawings.

In general, the invention comprises an upper and lower strand run-intable and a kick-off mechanism at each level for transferring metalstrands to upper and lower holding pockets respectively. A sawtooth-typecooling bed is provided which may be selectively operated in a singlestroke mode for handling single strands from the lower holding pocket orin a dual stroke mode for transferring metal strands from the upper andlower holding pockets simultaneously. Means are provided for sequencingthe cooling, bed movable carry-over rack so that the. strands may beremoved without interference from succeeding strands. A packingmechanism is also provided for automatically stacking flat steel strandsin the lower holding pocket before transfer to the cooling bed and anautomatic unpacking mechanism is provided at the end of the cooling bedfor unpacking the stacked strands and transferring them to shuffle barsfor removal to a run-out table.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a coolingbed apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view with parts broken awayof the kick-offassembly shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the portion of the apparatus illustrated inFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2 andillustrating the operation of the packing mechanism;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary views illustrating the operation of themovable cooling bed carry-over bars;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are fragmentary views illustrating the operation of theunscrambling mechanism; I

FIGS. 9a-9g and 9i-9p schematically illustrate the operation of thekick-off portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 9hschematically illustrates a control for effecting the operationillustrated in FIGS. 9a-9g and 9i9p.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. Lschematically illustratesa cooling apparatus 10 which may be associated with a steel rolling mill12. The mill 12 may be adapted to discharge a first continuous strand ofmetal 14 and a second continuous strand of metal 15, both of which areshaped into a desired crosssectional configuration by the rolling mill12. The strands 14 and 15 may pass through flying shears l7 and 18,respectively, where they are cut into desired lengths. As those skilledin the art will appreciate, flying shears are well known devices adaptedto cut strands while they are moving. Strands 14 and 15 may be directedfrom the rolling mill 12 along a lower set of run-out rolls 20 and anupper set of run-out rolls 21, respectively, which direct strands 14 and15 to the cooling apparatus 10. Rolling mill 12, shears 17 and 18 andrun-out rolls 20 and 21 are well known in the art and accordingly, neednot be illustrated or described in further detail.

The cooling bed apparatus 10 generally comprises a run-in assembly 25, akick-of assembly 26, a cooling bed 27, a shuffle bar assembly 29 and arun-out table 30. Kick-off assembly 26 receives the strands 14 and 15and transfers them to the cooling bed 27. The kick-off assembly 26generally includes lower and upper portions 31 and 32 each having setsof run-in rolls 35 and 36, respectively, which are in general alignmentwith run-out rolls 20 .and 21, respectively, for receiving strands 14and 15. The upper and lower portions, respectively, include kick-offapron 38 and 39 which are also disposed adjacent their associated run-inrolls 35 or 36, and each kick-off apron is operable to transfer strandsto the cooling bed transfer assembly 27 in a manner to be describedhereinafter. The lower kick off apron 38 may be divided into a pluralityof seetiens 3S6 38h and an extended section 38i, the purpose of whichwill be described hereinafter. Similarly, the upper kick-off apron 39may be divided into sections 39a 39c and an extended section 39d. Thekick-off aprons 38 and 39 are operative for transferring the strands 14and 15 from the rolls 35 or 36 to cooling bed 27.

Cooling bed 27 includes a plurality of alternate stationary and movablenotched transfer bars 41 and 42 which extend generally perpendicularlyto the direction of strand motion along the run-in assembly 25. Themovable bars 42 serve to transport strands from the run-in assembly in astepwise fashion between stationary bars 42 and across the cooling bedassembly 27 to a conventional shuffle bar assembly 29'for removal to aconventional run-out table 30 which transports strands for furtherprocessing.

As will be described more fully below, a packing mechanism 80 (FIG. 2)is disposed below the kick-off apron 38 for stacking a preselectednumber of flats before the latter are displaced across the cooling bed27. Also, a pack unscrambler 251 (FIG. 7) is disposed between thedischarge end of the cooling bed 27 and the shuffle bar assembly 29 forindividually removing the flats in a pack on bed 27 and for deliveringthe same to the shuffle bar assembly. 7

' The specific details of the kick-off assembly 26, the cooling bedtransfer assembly 27 and their associated components will now bedescribed in detail with further reference to the drawings. The run-inassembly 25, shuffle bar assembly 29 and run-out table 30 may be of anywell known design and need not be described in detail.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the run-in assembly 25 is seen to include aframe 45 which supports a plurality of 'prime movers 46 for drivingrolls and 36. Each prime mover 46 may have a first drive shaft 47 towhich one of the upper run-in rolls 36 may be attached and a seconddrive shaft 48 extending from its opposite end for driving one of thelower run-in rolls 35. More specifically, each run-in roll 35 is affixedto one end of a shaft 50 which is'rotatably mounted on framework bysuitable bearings 51 and 52. The opposite end of each shaft may besuitably coupled to its associated drive shaft 46 such as by a belt 53which extends around a first pulley 54 affixed to shaft 50 and a secondpulley 55 affixed to prime mover output shaft 48. As seen in FIG. 2 theaxes of rotation of rolls 35 and 36 are inclined downwardly toward thecooling bed 27 so that metal strands passing along the upper or lowerrolls 35 or 36 will tend to move laterally toward the cooling bed 27under the influence of gravity. The lower and upper kick-off aprons 38and 39 are positioned respectively adjacent the depressed ends ofrollers 35 and 36 and each extends longitudinally in a directiongenerally parallel to the direction of strand motion along rolls 35 and36. It will be understood that while reference is made to aprons 38 and39, the following description of the aprons and their respective liftingassemblies will be applicable to each of the sections 38a 38i and 39a39d. The upper surface of the kick-off aprons 38 and 39 are alsoinclined downwardly toward cooling bed 27 at an angle of inclinationsubstantially the same as the angle at which rolls 35 and 36 areinclined. The lower kickoff apron is shown in FIG. 2 to have atransverse cross section which is generally U-shaped and inverted. Theopen bottom of apron 38 may be supported by means of an l-beam 56 orother similar supporting member. The apron 38 and l-beam 56 are coupledfor vertical reciprocating motion by a lift assembly 57 which mayinclude vertical links 58 which are pivotally connected to one arm of acrank 59 which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends by a pin'60and whose other end is pivotally connected to a longitudinally movablerod 61.

It will be appreciated that movement of rod 61 in a first directionperpendicular to the plane of FIG. 2 will rock crank 59 in a firstdirection to elevate apron 38 from its position shown by full lines toits position shown by broken lines while return movement of rod 60 willreturn apron 38 to its original position. Lift apron 39 is similarlysupported for reciprocation by a lifting assembly 64 which is similar tothat discussed with respect to apron 38. It will be appreciated thateach of the apron sections 38a 38i and 39a 39d will be provided with anindividuallyoperable lift assembly 57 or 64 so that said aprons may bereciprocated in groups while others are held stationary as will bediscussed below.

Aprons 38 and 39 are shown in FIG. 2 in their lowermost positions atwhich point their inclinded upper surfaces are in general alignment withthe inclined uppermost portions of the peripheries of rolls 35 and 36.The aprons 38 and 39 are movable by lift assemblies 57 and 64 to anextreme upper limit of travel as indicated by broken lines or to anintermediate position.

As is also seen in FIG. 2, the lower kick-off assembly portion 29includes a holding notch comprising a section which is generally I.-shaped in vertical crosssection with a long leg 71 inclined generallydownwardly toward the cooling bed 27 and having a short leg 72 extendinggenerally upwardly. The holding notch 70 is positioned so that itsinclined leg 71 is in general alignment with the top surface of kick-offapron 38 when the latter is in its uppermost position 67. Accordingly,when kick-off apron 38 is in its lowermost position and a strand isdeposited on the run-in table along lower rolls 35, the strand will movelaterally from roll35 to the upper surface of apron 38 due to theinclination of these members. This will also commence the skiddingaction which begins to slow the strand from its maximum speed attainedon the rolls 35. The strand may then be transferred to the holding notch70 by actuating the lifting mechanism 57 to elevate apron 38 to itsposition shown by full lines in FIG. 2 whereupon the strand is free tomove onto surface 71 of pocket 70 where it will skid to a stop. Transferof the strand to the cooling bed 27 may then be effected in a manner tobe described hereinafter. The short leg 72 of holding notch 70 isintegral with the stationary carry-over bars 41. The upper kick-offassembly portion 28 has a similarly constructed holding notch 73 havinga downwardly inclined long leg 74 terminating in a generally upwardlyextending short leg 75 and positioned so that the inclined leg 74 is ingeneral alignment with the top surface of upper apron 39 when the latteris in its uppermost position shown by broken lines. Thus, a stranddisposed on the upper run-in rolls 36 may be transferred to the upperholding notch 73 in a manner similar to that described for the lowerholding notch 70.

FIGS. 2 and 4 show the kick-off assembly 26 to include a packingmechanism for stacking flat strands in the lower holding pocket 70.While one such packing mechanism 80 is shown, it will be understood thata plurality of such assemblies may be spaced along the length ofkick-off assembly 26 for concurrent operation. As seen in FIG. 2, thepacking mechanism 80 generally comprises a prime mover 82 which drives apacking plunger assembly 83 through a drive linkage 84. The plungerassembly 83 is reciprocated vertically through openings 85' formed inthe lower holding pocket 70 for moving a plunger head 85 into engagementwith successive flats 86 which are successively disposed in the holdingpocket 73 in a manner previ ously discussed. When a flat 86 is receivedin pocket 73, it is oriented generally with its longer cross sectionalside in engagement with surface 74 as shown by broken lines in FIG. 2.As the plunger assembly 83 reciprocates, the head 85 engages the flat 86in an offcenter location for tilting the latter to its edgewise positionshown by full lines in FIG. 2. As will be discussed more fully below,the plunger assembly is pivotal clockwise as viewed in FIG. 2 so that aseach successive flat 86 is disposed in pocket 70, the plunger head willbe in position to engage a corresponding portion of each to tilt thesame into a stack with all flats oriented in the manner of the initialflat 86.

In the preferred embodiment, each packing assembly includes a pair ofplunger assemblies 83 each coupled to motor 82, only one of which isshown in FIG. 2. Toward this end, motor 82 has an output shaft 86connected by coupling 87 to the input shaft 83 of a gear reducerassembly 89 which in turn has a pair of output shafts 90 (only one isseen in FIG. 2) which extend in axial'alignment from its opposite sidesand generally perpendicularly relative to the axis of input shaft 88.Each output shaft 90 drives one of the plunger assemblies through one ofa pair of identical linkage assemblies 84. Since the linkages 84 andpacking plunger assemblies 83 are identical for each half of the pair,only the linkage 84 and plunger assembly 83 driven by output shaft 90are shown and described. Linkage assembly 83 includes a radiallyextending crank member 92 which is suitably coupled for rotation withshaft 90. A pin 94 extends from a suitable opening in crank 92 with thepin axis generally parallel to and displaced from the axis of shaft 90.The pin 94 extends through a rod connection 95 which may be suitablyjournaled for rotation on pin 93 by means such as bearings 96. Aconnecting rod 97 may be affixed at one end to the connection 95 andextends radially from pin 94 and toward the packing plunger assembly 83and has a clevis 98 connected to its other end. It will thus beappreciated that as shaft 90 and crank 92 rotate, the connection 94journaled on pin 93 and rod 97 will reciprocate to drive the packingplunger assembly 83 in a manner which will be described hereinafter.

With further reference to FIG. 2, the packing plunger assembly 83includes a generally vertically extending packing rod 101 having theplunger head 85 affixed to its upper end is pivotally connected at itsopposite end to one arm of a generally L-shaped crank 103 is secured toa generally horizontally extending packing shaft 104 which may bepivotally journaled in bearings not shown. The other leg of crank 103extends radially from shaft 103 for pivotal connection at its remote endto connecting rod 97. Intermediate the plunger head 85 and crank 103,packing rod 101 passes through a guide collar 112 which is pivotallyjournaled on trunnion pins 113 between a pair of parallel, verticallyoriented plates 114 attatched to a pivotally mounted, generallyhorizontal indexing shaft 115 located generally above and parallel topacking shaft 104. The axes of the indexing shaft 115 and packing shaft104 are also generally parallel to the axes of trunnion pins 113,connecting pins 106 and 110, pin 94 and output shaft of the gear box 89.It will therefore be appreciated that as output shaft 90 rotates causingthe connecting rod 97 to reciprocate, the crank 103 will alsoreciprocate about packing shaft 104 causing packing rod 101 and plungerhead to reciprocate while the rod 101 ia guided by the slidingconnection in collar 112.

As shown in FIG. 2, the packing assembly is in its unextended positionshown by full lines. Upon 180 rotation of output shaft 90, the plungerhead 100 would advance to the position indicated by phantom linesthereby causing the strand 86 shown by broken lines to rotate 90 aboutits longitudinal axis in holding pocket 70 to the edgewise positionindicated by full lines. In order to reorient the plunger assembly 83for successive strands 86, the packing mechanism 80 is provided with anindexing assembly which is shown in FIG. 4. The indexing assembly 120includes a generally vertical indexing plate 122 which is affixed toindexing shaft 115. The indexing plate 122 may be pivoted through anumber of positions as shown by full and broken lines in-FIGQ4 in amanner to be described hereinafter so as to .adjust the angular positionof indexing shaft 115 thereby displacing the collar member 112 andchanging the orientation angle of the reciprocating packing shaft 101.The indexing plate 122 may be caused to move between a number ofsuccessive positions by an arcuate gear rack 125 attached to the bottomof the indexing plate 122 and which meshes with a pinion gear 126affixed to a horizontal pinion shaft 127 rotatably journaled in bearings128. The pinion shaft 127 is rotated by means of an indexing cylinder130 having an extensible shaft 131 which engages a radially extendingplate 133 affixed to pinion shaft 127 through a clevis and pin assembly135 affixed to the end of the cylinder shaft 131. The cylinder 130itself may be journaled for pivotal motion by means of generallyhorizontal trunnion pins 137 supported in spaced vertical supports 138.Control means, not shown, may be provided for successively extendingcylinder shaft 131 in a stepwise fashion to a number of differentpositions thereby rotating the pinion shaft 127 and gear 126. Thiscauses the rack 125 attached to the indexing plate 122 to travel alongthe pinion gear 126, thereby pivoting the indexing shaft 115. Bychanging the angular position of the indexing shaft 115, the position ofcollar 112 also varies so that the packing rod 101 and plunger head 100are caused to travel along different angularly extending paths wherebythe packing rod 101 may act upon successive strands to form a stack ofmetal strands 86 in the holding pocket 70. A second cylinder isjournaled by trunnion pins 146 and has its shaft 147 pivotally connectedto indexing plate 122 by means of clevis and pin assembly 148. Thecylinder 145 may be provided for returning the indexing plate 122 to itsstarting position so that a single acting indexing cylinder 130 may beutlized. While the control for the stacking assembly is not shown, itwill be appreciated that it may take any form such as an element whichsenses when a strand has come to rest in pocket 70 and which provides asignal to energize motor 82 for a single revolution of rod coupling 95to move plunger assembly 83 through onecycle. A limit switch, not shown,may be coupled to pin 94 for actuating circuitry after each revolutionof pin 94 for resetting motor 86 transfer bars 42 interspersed betweenthe stationary bars 41. More specifically, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, thecooling bed 27 generally includes a plurality of spaced apart, parallel,horizontally extending notched or sawtooth transfer bars 41 which arefixed in position such as by mounting on a beam 155. A plurality ofsimilarly configured, movable transfer bars 42 are interposed betweenand parallel to the fixed transfer bars 41. The bars 41 and 42 extendbetween the kick-off assembly 26 and shuffle bar assembly 29 fortransporting metal strands from the run-in table 25 to the shuffle barassembly 29. The ends of the fixed transfer bars 41 are attached to thelower holding pocket 70 while slots 156 are provided in the lower andupper holding pockets 70 and 73, respectively, in alignment with themovable transfer bars 42 so that the movable bars are free to movethrough and pick up metal strands from holding pockets 70 and 73 withoutinterference.

The mechanism for reciprocating the movable transfer bar is shown inFIGS. and 6. Generally, the mechanism for moving the movable carry-overbar 42 includes a first translating assembly 157 for moving the bar 42horizontally, a second translating assembly 158 for moving bar 42vertically and a switching assembly 159 (FIGURE 6) for adjusting thehorizontal component of said movement between a first distance and asecond distance substantially twice said first distance.

Referring now to FIG. 5, the drive mechanism for the movable carry-overbar 42 may include a pair of drive motors 160 which are axially alignedon opposite sides of a gear box 161 and are coupled to input shaftsthereof by conventional means such as couplings 162. The gear box 161 issuitably supported beneath the transfer bars 41 and 42 and has a firstpair of axially aligned, horizontal output shafts 165 for driving a pairof lifting and lowering linkages 167 coupled to movable transfer bars 42and which from a part of the first translating assembly 157, and asecond pair of axially aligned horizontal output shafts 166 for drivinga traversing linkage 168 which are also coupled to the movable rack bars42 and form a part of the second translating means 158.

Since the lifting and lowering linkages 167 coupled to each side of thegear box 161 are identical, only one need be described in detail. Asseen in FIGS. 5 and 6, the output shaft 165 has an eccentrically mountedcrank member 170 affixed thereto. A crank shaft 171 extends from crank170 with its axis generally parallel to that of shaft 165 and isrotatably connected to a generally horizontally extending lift rod 172which extends generally perpendicularly to the bars 41 and 42 of thecooling table 27 and may pass beneath a plurality of said bars. At thepoint where lift rod 172 passes beneath movable bars 42, a crank 174 maybe pivotally mounted on a horizontal'pin 175 which extends generallyperpendicular to the axis of lift rod 172. One leg of the crank 174extends vertically downward from pin 175 and is pivotally connected tolift rod 172 by a pin 176 whose axis is generally parallel to that ofpin 175. The other leg of crank 174 extends generally horizontally andterminates at a point beneath bar 42 where it is coupled by link 177 tothe lower surface ofa horizontal beam 180 extending generally parallelto the movable transfer bar 42. Beam 180 supports the movable transferbar 42 on a horizontal roller 182 which is rotatably supported on beam180 between generally vertically extending legs 183 and on a horizontalpin 184 having its axis perpendicular to the axis of bar 42. It maythusbe seen that as crank member is rotated on shaft 175, the lift rod172 will be reciprocally driven back and forth beneath the cooling bed27. Movement of the lift rod 172 will in turn pivot the crank 172thereby lifting and lowering beam which in turn lifts and lowers themovable transfer bar 42. This arrangement permits the lift rod 172 tosimultaneously lift a number of beams similar to beam 180 beneath othermovable rack members 42. The other lift linkage 167 disposed on theopposite side of gear box 161 will similarly impart a lifting force tothe other end of beam 180 at a spaced apart location. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that any similar equivalentlifting mechanism could be employed to lift and lower the transfer bars42.

With further reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, traversing linkage 168 includesa dual stroke traverse drive mechanism for selectively varying thedistance that the rack members 42 are moved back and forth along theirlongitudinal axes. The traversing drive mechanism 190 generally includesa box-like frame 191 which extends generally horizontally between beams180 and is positioned between the transfer bars 41 and 42 and drive gearbox 161. The opposite ends of the frame 191 terminate in a generallytriangular end portion 191 which is slidingly supported on beams 180 andeach of which is connected to a traverse drive linkage 192 coupled to amovable transfer 42.

Frame 190 may be reciprocatingly driven along its longitudinal axis by ashort stroke drive linkage 195 located on one of its sides or a longstroke drive linkage 196 located on its opposite side. Switching betweena short stroke and a long stroke mode of operation is accomplished by aswitch mechanism 197. As seen in FIG. 5, the short stroke drive linkage195 includes a crank member 200 attached to the output shaft 166 of gearbox 161. The crank member 200 has an eccentrically positioned shaft 201which is pivotally journaled in a link 202 connected to one end of agenerally horizontally extending drive rod 203. The opposite end of thedrive rod 203 coupled by a clevis and pin assembly 204 to the switchmechanism 197 attached to frame 191.

The switch mechanism 197 includes a tubular member 208 which extendshorizontally between the sides of frame 191 and is pivotally journaledtherein. A switching cylinder 210 extends transversely relative totubular member 208 and along the longitudinal axis of frame 191 and ispivotally supported at one end by a clevis and pin assembly 211 to asupporting crosspiece 213 between the sides of the frame 191. Anextensible shaft 215 extends downwardly from cylinder 210 to a pointbeneath the tubular member 208 where the end of the shaft 215 ispivotally connected to a horizontal pin 217 extending between a pair ofspaced parallel ears 218 attached to member 208. The axis of theconnecting pin 217 is parallel to the axis of tubular member 208 so thatupon extending or retracting the shaft 215 of cylinder 210, the tubularmember 208 will be caused to pivot within the frame 191. A rectangularplate 220 is attached to an end of tubular member 208 which extendsoutside of frame 191 on the side adjacent the short stroke drive linkage195. Plate 220 has a rectangular slot formed within its periphery andwhich has its longitudinal axis extending generally vertically when theassembly is in its short stroke position shown in FIG. 6. A slidingblock 222 is fitted within slot 221 and is coupled by the clevis and pinassembly 204 to the short stroke drive linkage 195. It will thus be seenthat as the crank 200 rotates, the drive rod 203 will reciprocate backand forth causing the block 222 to act against plate member 220 andthereby reciprocate the frame 191. As seen by broken lines in FIG. 6,when the cylinder shaft 215 is retracted to rotate tubular member 208 toits long stroke position, the attached plate member 220 will be rotated90 to place the axis of longitudinal slot 221 in a direction generallyparallel to that of the drive rod 203 so that upon reciprocation of rod203 block 222 will merely reciprocate within the slot 221 withoutcausing the framework 191 to reciprocate.

An identical drive arrangement is disposed on the opposite side of frame191 except that linkage 196 is eccentrically mounted so as to have agreater degree of reciprocating travel. A plate member 225 is attachedto the opposite end of tubular member 208 and has a slot similar to slot220 except that the slot in plate member 225 is rotated 90 with respectto that in plate member 220. Therefore, when the cylinder shaft 215 isextended to provide for driving by the short drive rod 203, thelongitudinal slot in plate 225 willbe positioned to disengage the longstroke drive assembly 196 and the opposite will be true when the rod 203is retracted for disengaging the short stroke drive assembly 195 andengaging the long stroke drive assembly 196.

FIG. 5 shows the traverse connecting linkage 192 which converts thereciprocating motion of frame 191 into the motion of the movabletransfer bars 42. Linkage 192 comprises an elongated rod 230 which ispivotally connected to the bottom of rack member 42 by a pin 232. Theopposite end of the rod 230 is pivotally connected to one leg of a crank233 by means of a vertical pin 234 while the apex of crank 233 isconnected to beam 180 by pin 235 and the other leg of crank 233 ispivotally connected to the frame 191 by a vertically extending pin 235.Reciprocation of frame 191 causes crank 233 to pivot about pin 235 andthereby causes the connecting rod 230 to reciprocate in a directionparallel to transfer bar 42. The connection of rod 230 to the rackmember 42 through pin 232, causes longitudinal reciprocation of the rack42 on rollers 182.

As seen in FIG. 2, with the short stroke mode of operation selected andby simultaneously operating the traversing linkage 168 and the liftingand lowering linkage 167, the rack members 42 may be reciprocated in anare as depicted by line A whereby strands of metal will be lifted fromholding pocket 70 and transported across cooling bed 27. Similarly, fordual stroke operation, the bar 42 will travel in a path similar to lineB, thereby causing strands picked up from the holding pockets 70 and 73to be transported across two notches on bars 41 rather than one notch asin the single stroke mode of operation.

Reciprocation of the movable transfer bars 42 acts to transport metalstrands across the cooling bed 27 to a conventional shuffle barmechanism 29 which in turn moves the bars or strands to a run-out table30 for transporting the bars for further processing. An unscramblingmechanism 250 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may also be provided at the endof the cooling bed 27 for automatically separating metal strands whichmay be packed by the packing mechanism and transported across thecooling bed 27. Generally, the mechanism 250 comprises a spaced pair ofselectively operable, identical, unscrambling devices, only one of whichis shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, and which are coupled to a conventional driveunit (not shown) by means of a shaft 258 which extends generallyperpendicularly to the motion of the strands across the cooling bed 25and may be supportingly journaled in conventional bearings (not shown).It will be understood that shaft 258 may be coupled to otherunscrambling mechanisms located along the cooling bed 27.

The unscrambling mechanism 250 is shown in FIG. 7 to includeunscrambling arms 265 which are keyed to the shaft 258 and comprises apair of opposed radially extending arms having notches 267 formed ontheir ends by a radially extending protrusion 268. Notches 267 are inthe trailing edges of arms 265 relative to its direction of rotation. Aselectively adjustable lift assembly 270 is disposed adjacent theunscrambling lever 265 and includes a notched pocket 272 which isconnected by a pin 278 to the ends of a pair of spaced levers 273pivotally journaled on shaft 258. An arcuate discharge-guide bar 274 ismounted on levers 273 in spaced relation from the notched pocket 272 andextend in a direction generally parallel to strand travel across coolingbed 27 for guiding strands onto the shuffle bar assembly 29. Anadjustable stop is provided by a threaded bolt 280 extending throughnotch member 272 and contacting the upper edge of plate member 276 at apoint between pivot pin 278 and arcuate guide bar 274.

The notched pocket 272 and guide bar 274 may be pivoted to an operativeposition as seen in FIG. 8 by an actuating cylinder 282 which is mountedon generally horizontally extending trunnion pins 283 journaled in fixedsupports (not shown) with the extensible cylinder shaft 285 extendingupwardly and coupled to the lever 273 by means of a clevis and pinassembly 286 located intermediate the ends of levers 273 and'unscramblershaft 258. Suitable control means (not shown) are provided forselectively extending the cylinder shaft 285 to move lever 273 from itsinoperative position shown in FIG. 7 to its operative position shown inFIG. 8. More specifically, when the notch 272 is retracted as shown inFIG. 8, it will not interfere with the transfer of strands 289 from thestationary carry-over bar 41 and onto the shuffle bars 29. However,extension of cylinder shaft 285 will pivot the notched pocket 272through an arc and position to receive a pack of strands 290 frommovable transfer bar 42. The unscrambler arms 265 may then be rotated bymoving the notches 267 through the space occupied by the bottom strandof pack 290 on the notch pocket 272 whereby the strand will be strippedfrom the bottom of the pack and carried forward until it contacts thecurved guide bar 274 at which point the strand will be deflected by thecurved guide bar 274 onto the shuffle bed assembly 29 for removal to therollout table. The unscrambling arm 265 may be rotated for as manyrevolutions as necessary to remove all strands from pack 290.

Referring to FIGS. 9a 9g which illustrate the delivery sequence ofproducts from the run-in table 25 to the cooling bed 27, the lift aprons38 and 39 are initially in an elevated position so that as the product(A for example in FIG. 2) is received from the mill on the run-in tablerolls 35, the product slides down against the sides of the raised liftaprons. When a product has moved sufficiently down the table to wherekick-off is to begin, the lift aprons 28 are lowered permitting the barto slide off the table rolls and on to the top of the lift apron. Thelift aprons 38 are then raised to their mid position, allowing theproduct A to skid whereby its speed is reduced. After a strand speedreduction by about one-third, the lift aprons 38 are raised fully totransfer the product from the top of the lift apron into the holdingnotch 70 of the cooling bed. The breaking action to slow the bar byskidding starts as soon as the bar begins to transfer onto the liftapron from the table rolls and continues while the lift apron is beingraised, while the bar is transferring from the lift apron to thestationary cooling bed skidding notch, and when in the notch itselfuntil the bar reaches its final rest position.

Successful transfer requires that the lift aprons 38 and 39 be at leastpartially raised before the head end of the trailing product B cantransfer onto the lift aprons. This is generally accomplished byoperating the run-in rollers at a speed which is faster than the rate ofproduct delivery from the rolling mill. In addition, a deflector plate(not shown) may be provided ahead of the first lift apron 38a or 39a andmay be interlocked to the lift apron actuating mechanism so that whenthe lift aprons 38 or 39 are lowered, the deflector will be raised todirect the head end of the following bar B along the upper half of thetable roller face for at least a partial distance.

To accommodate variations in mill speed and product range and differentlength bars, the lift aprons 38 and 39 are sectionalized 38a 38i and 39a39d starting at the entry of the run-in table and continuing down thecooling bed area. As the required kick-off point moves down the bed,either due to shorter pieces or long pieces delivered at lower speeds, aportion or portions of the lift aprons 38 or 39 can be disengaged sothat they remain in the raised position when the bar is transferred.These raised sections along with the sepa ration distance prevent thehead end of the trailing bar B from being transferred until the transferof the leading bar A can be completed.

As shown schematically in FIG. 9h, hot metal detectors 300 and 301 arerespectively located in the upper and lower portions of the run-in table25 to detect the head end of the product. Time delay circuits 302 and303 are coupled between the hot metal detectors and p the upper andlower kick-off mechanism operators 304 and 305. Since the length of theproduct, the product speed and the distance from each hot metal detector300 or 301 to the point at which the kick-off operation is to beinitiated are all known, the time delay between the passage of the leadend of the product pass the hot metal detector and the initiation ofakick-off operation is to be commenced can be determined.

It will be appreciated that the speed at which the product can bedelivered from the mill is determined by the cooling bed cycle time. Forexample, in one commercial application, the cooling bed cycle time isabout 7.5 seconds with a cut bar length of about 300 feet, a cooling bedlength of 330 feet, a skidding friction of .33 and a bar skiddingdistance of about 92 feet. The latter distance is that which the strandtravels between the point that the kick-off operation begins and thestrand comes to rest. Under such circumstances, the maximum mill speedof about 40 feet per second is possible. In order to separate thesevered strand from that exiting the mill, the run-in rolls 20 and 21will be rotated at a speed which will move the strand at a speed ofabout 10% greater than that of the mill, or as in the example, about 44feet per second.

It will be appreciated that because the products delivered to the upperand lower holding notches and 73 are spaced apart as a result of thefaster speed imparted to the products by the rolls 38 and 39 over themill delivery speed, it is possible to move the carry-over bars 42through the holding notches for removing products therefrom withoutinterference by a trailing product at the same level. This iscomplicated when it is desired to remove products simultaneously fromboth the upper and lower holding notches 70 and 73 because of theimprobability that both products will skid to a halt simultaneously.Under such conditions the timing will be such that interference isavoided with trailing products in each of the upper and lower portionsof the runin table 25. Such timing is determined by the time required tomove the carry-over bars 41 through each of the notches and the time lagbetween the upper and lower products. For example, in the abovediscussed commercial embodiment, a time of .75 seconds is required forthe carry-over bar 42 to clear the lower notch 70 and 1.06 seconds toclear the upper notch 73 with a sequence clearance time of .55 seconds.In addition, the time between which the product is separated from theshear and it is deposited on the holding notch by the elevation of itsrespective lift apron is 3.415 seconds while the product skids to a holdin the holding notch 2.67 seconds later for a total transit time of6.085 seconds. Under these conditions, it has been found that if thelower product leads the upper product by no more than 4.28 seconds bothproducts can be removed simultaneously. However, if the lower productleads the upper product by more than 4.28 seconds, the lower productmust be removed first, after which the upper product and the nextsucceeding lower product can be removed simultaneously.

This sequence of operation is illustrated in FIGS. 9a 9g and 9i 9p. Forexample, product A will leave the shear at time t0 and the lead endthereof will pass the hot metal detector (not shown) which will belocated at some intermediate point in the run-out table 25. The hotmetal detector will provide a signal to iniate the kick-off operationwhich preferably occurs after the trailing end of product A has movedapproximately feet down the run-in table. Accordingly, at time 10 11935seconds, the lift kick-off apron 38 will move down so that product A canbegin moving off of the rolls 35 and onto the lift apron 38 whereuponproduct A will begin skidding (FIG. 9b). The lift apron 38 is thenraised (FIG. 9c) to an intermediate position which is maintained whilethe product continues to skid so that the trailing bar B does notmove'onto the lift apron 38. At time i0 3.415 seconds, the lift apron 38is raised discharging the product A intothe holding notch 70 so that theproduct comes to rest at time tO 6.085 (FIG. 9d). The trailing product Bwill be delivered to the run-out table from the shear at time :0 7.5seconds (FIG. 9e) and will progress in the manner of bar A so that thelift apron 38 will be raised to move product B onto the holding notch 70at time tO 10.9l5. Prior to that time therefor, product A should havebeen removed by the operation of the cooling bed carry-over bar 42. Inaddition, if a product is also to be removed from the upper holdingnotch 73, it must be done at a sufficient interval prior to t 10.915 sothat the cooling bed carry-over bar 42 can move through the lowerholding notch 70 without interference from product B. Since in theexample, the cooling bed carry-over bar requires .55 seconds clearancetime and 1.06 seconds to clear both notches 70 and 73 and becauseproduct B is discharged onto the lower holding notch at time tO 10.915seconds, the cooling bed carry-over bar must be actuated at least by tO10.365 if is not to be interfered with by product B. Therefore, becauseD must thus come to a rest by at least time 0 10.365 (FIG. 9f) andbecause the bar'stops at 6.085 seconds after operation of the shear, theproduct D in the upper table must follow product A by no more than 4.28seconds if product A and product D are to be removed simultaneously bythe cooling bed carry-over bar. Thus, when product A passes its hotmetal detector 300, the position of product D will also be checked byhot metal detector 301 (FIG. 9h). If product D follows product A by nomore than 4.28 seconds, the logic circuit 306 will operate thecarry-over bar operator 307 when product D comes to rest and products Aand D will be removed from their holding notches prior to the time thatthe lift apron is elevated to discharge product B onto the holding notch(FIG. 9g).

If upon checking the position of product D, it is determined that ittrails product A by more than 4.28 seconds, the logic circuit 306operates a time delay 308 prior to the operation of the cooling bedcarry-over bar.

If the interval between products A and D exceeds 4.28 seconds, the logiccircuit 306 will initiate the operation of the carry-over bar operator307 and product A will be transferred from the holding notch by thecarry-over bar 42 (FIG. 9i). In addition, a delay timer 308 will resetthe logic circuit after a time delay initiates a new cooling bedcarry-over cycle. This time delay is determined by the expression:

T x TM T Where T= the time delay, K =a constant, V,, product speed inthe roller table, T safety margin time, and T time required to move thecarry-over drive from rest position to a point of contacting the productin the notches 70 and 73. The product delivered to the upper holdingnotch 73 then becomes the leading strand and that delivered to the lowerholding notch 70 becomes the trailing strand. The cooling bed carry-overcycle will operate in this mode so long as the upper strand leads thelower strand by no more than 3.22 seconds for the illustrated example.Here the cutting of strand D will define time :0 (FIG. 9j) so thatstrand D will be kicked off and skid to a stop at time :0 6.085 (FIG.91) the trailing strand B will be cut at time tO 7.5 (FIG. 9m) andstrand B will skid to a stop 3.22 seconds ;after strand D, or at time t09.305 (FIG. 9n). The lift apron will move strand E, which follows strandD, into the holding notch 73 at time tO 10.915 (FIG. 9p). As indicatedabove, the operating bed carry-over bar requires 1.06 seconds to movethrough the upper and lower holding notches and must have, in addition,at

least .55 seconds of clearance time. So long as the upper productcontinued to lead the lower product by no more than 3.22 seconds, thecooling bed carry-over would continue to cycle in this manner.Accordingly, the cycle would be initiated when the upper product wassensed by the hot metal detector 301, at which time the position of thelower product would be sensed and if the time interval was less than3.22 seconds, the cooling bar would continue to cycle in this fashion.If the trailing lower product lagged by more than 3.22 seconds, thelogic circuit 306 would initiate the operation of carry-over baroperator 307 and after the time delay, would initiate the sequencewherein the lower product would be leading inasmuch as when the gapbetween the upper bar and the lower bar exceeds 3.22 seconds, the gapbetween the lower product and the next succeeding upper product would beless than 4.28 seconds.

Ifa single strand is being handled, only the lower runin table need beused. In such a case, the dual stroke traversing linkage 168 may be setfor either short or long stroke mode of operation depending on theproduct whereby the movable carry-over bars 42 will be cycled throughone or two notch spaces of longitudinal motion. If required duringsingle strand operation, products may be invertd to the upper run-intable in case the lower table may be inoperative. In this case, the dualstroke traversing linkage 168 will be set for the long stroke mode ofoperation only. When strands are being transferred .from both the upperand lower kickoff assemblies 26 and 27, the dual stroke traversinglinkage 168 will be switched to a long stroke mode of operation so thatmovable racks 42 are cycled to transfer strands from both the lower andupper holding racks and 73 onto the fixed cooling bed rack members 41and the strands will be transferred across the cooling bed two at a timeby virtue of the simultaneous transfer from the holding pockets to thecooling bed 27.

For conventional strand products, the packing and unpacking mechanismsand 250 will not be employed and the strands will be transferred acrossthe cooling bed 27 to shuffle bars 29 and thence to run-out table 30.Certain mill products, such as flats, however, are often formed intopacks to retard the cooling of the strands as they travel across thecooling bed 27. If packing is desired, only the lower run-in rolls 35are used and the product is transferred in the manner just described tothe lower holding pocket 70. As the flats are transferred to the holdingpocket, the movable racks 42 will not be cycled immediately. Instead,the packing mechanism 80 will be operated as previously described toform the flats edgewise as seen in FIG. 2

and successive flats will be similarly turned by indexing the packingassembly 83 to various positions to handle successive flats and formthem into a pack of a predetermined number of flats. After a pack isformed the dual stroke traversing linkage will be set for the longstroke mode of operation whereby the movable cooling bed racks 42 willbe cycled through two notch spaces and the packs will occupy eachalternate pocket. The same procedure will be followed for successiveflats entering the run-in table. As the packs are transferred across thecooling bed to the final cooling bed, notch of fixed rack members 41 asseen in FIG. 8, the pack unscrambling mechanism 250 will be actuated toplace the pack onto the movable notch member 272 and the packunscrambled in the manner, which has been previously described totransfer the flats singly onto shuffle bars of the shuffle bar assembly29 for transfer to runout table 30.

While only a single embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, it is not intended to be limited thereby but only by thescope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A cooling bed assembly for simultaneously moving a plurality ofelongate metallic products in a first direction,

first inlet means extending in a second direction generally normal tosaid first direction and disposed for receiving from a rolling mill afirst one of said products and including first holding means for holdinga received product, second inlet means extending generally in saidsecond direction and disposed adjacent said first inlet means forreceiving from said rolling mill a second one of said products andincluding second holding means spaced from said first holding means forholding a received product,

discharge means spaced in said first direction from each of said firstand second inlet means,

transfer means for simultaneously moving said products in said firstdirection and from said first and second inlet means to said dischargemeans, said transfer means including spaced apart product support meanseach being movable relative to said first and second holding means forsimultaneously removing one of said products from each of said first andsecond holding means and for moving said simultaneously removed productsin spaced relation and in said first direction towards said dischargemeans.

2. The assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said transfer meansincludes translating means operative to move said products in first orsecond incremental steps between said inlet means and said dischargemeans, operating means coupled to said translating means and selectivelyoperable for moving said translating means in said first or secondincremental distances, said translating means being movable relative tosaid first and second holding means, said translating means beingeffective for removing products from said first holding means andineffective for removing products from said second holding means whenmoved through said first incremental distances and said translatingmeans being effective for removing products from both said first andsecond holding means when moved through said second incrementaldistances.

3. The assembly set forth in claim 2 wherein said transfer meansincludes a plurality of generally parallel movable carry-over bar means,said spaced apart product support means comprising notches formedthereon and a plurality of stationary carry-over bar means disposed ingeneral parallelism with said movable carryover bar means and havingmaterial supporting notches formed thereon.

4. The assembly set forth in claim 2 wherein each of said first andsecond inlet means includes elongate runin means each adapted to receivesaid products, and kick-off means disposed between its respective run-inmeans and holding means for receiving said products from said run-inmeans and for selectively moving said products to its associated holdingmeans,

5. The assembly set'forth in claim 4, wherein each of said run-in meansincludes roller means mounted for rotation about axes generally parallelto each other and extending generally in said one direction, each ofsaid holding means being generally elevated relative to the rollers ofits associated run-in means, each of said kickoff means includingelevatable means having a first position adjacent the rollers of itsassociated run-in means for receiving products therefrom and each beingelevatable to a second position adjacent its associated holding meansfor delivering said products thereto.

6. The assembly set forth in claim 5 wherein said second inlet means iselevated relative to said first inlet means, each of said holding meansbeing inclined downwardly and has a product receiving pocket at itslower end, the product receiving pocket of said second holding meansbeing disposed generally above the holding pocket of said first holdingmeans.

7. The assembly set forth in claim 1 wherein said transfer meansincludes first and second product translating means each having aproduct support surface formed thereon, operating means coupled to atleast one of said product translating means for moving said one producttranslating means relative to the other and in a path which displacesits product support surface in a closed loop lying in a plane generallynormal to said one direction with portions of said loop being disposedabove and below the level of the supporting surface of the other of saidother product translating means, said spaced apart product support meansbeing formed on said one product translating means and movable therewithto displace products from said first and second holding means and fordisposing said products on the product support surface of said secondproduct translating means, the movement of said first producttranslating means in said path being operative to advance said productsin a step-by-step manner across said second product translating meansand to move the same onto said discharge means.

8. The assembly set forth in claim 7 and including adjusting meanscoupled to said operating means for adjusting the movement of said firstproduct translating means in the horizontal axis of said loop wherebysaid first product translating means will move through a firstincremental distance for removing a product from said first inlet meansbut at a distance insufficient to remove a product from said secondinlet means when a product is disposed in said first holding means only,said adjusting means being operative to increase the horizontaldimension of said loop so that when a product is disposed in the holdingmeans of each of said first and second inlet, the first producttranslating means will be moved a greater incremental distance wherebyproducts may be removed from said first and second inlet means.

9. The assembly set forth in claim 8 wherein said second inlet means iselevated relative to said first inlet means, each of said holding meansbeing inclined downwardly and having a product receiving pocket at itslower end, the product receiving pocket of said second holding meansbeing disposed generally above the holding pocket of said first holdingmeans.

10. A cooling bed assembly for simultaneously displacing a plurality ofelongate metallic products,

first inlet means disposed for receiving from a rolling mill a first oneof said products, second inlet means disposed adjacent said first inletmeans for receiving from said rolling mill a second one of saidproducts,

discharge means separated from each of said first and second inletmeans,

transfer means including a plurality of generally parallel movablecarry-over bar means for simultaneously moving said products in astep-by-step manner through substantially equal increments in onedirection and from said inlet to said discharge means, said carry-overbar means having spaced apart notches formed thereon and movablerelative to said first and second inlet means for removing said productsfrom said first and second inlet means and for moving said products inspaced relation and in said one direction towards said discharge means,a plurality of stationary carry-over bar means disposed in generalparalleliism with said movable carry-over bar means and having materialsupporting notches formed thereon, adjusting means operative to vary theincremental length of said steps to simultaneously vary the distancethat each of said products is moved from .said first and second inletmeans to said discharge means, said transfer means including operatingmeans coupled to said movable carry-over bar means and having firsttranslating means for elevating said movable carry-over bar meansvertically and second translating means for simultaneously moving saidmovable carry-over bar means horizontally, said adjusting meansincluding switching means coupled to said second translating means andhaving first and second positions, said switching means being operativewhen in said first position to couple said second translating means formoving said carry-over bar means through said incremental distance and asecond position for coupling said translating means for moving saidmovable carry-over bar means through said second distance, and means forselectively actuating said switching means between its first and secondpositions.

11. The assembly set forth in claim wherein each of said first andsecond inlet means includes run-in means each adapted to receive saidproducts, receiving means adapted to receive and hold said products, and

kick-off means adapted to receive said products from said run-in meansand for selectively moving said products to its associated receivingmeans, said movable carry-over bar means being movable relative to saidreceiving means for removing said products therefrom.

12. The assembly set forth in claim 11 wherein each of said run-in meansincludes roller means mounted for rotation about axes generally parallelto each other and extending generally in said one direction, each ofsaid receiving means being disposed adjacent to the roller of itsassociated run-in means, each of said kick-off means having elevatablemeans disposed adjacent its associated roller means and having a firstposition for receiving said products from said roller means and beingelevatable to a second position to discharge said products onto saidreceiving means.

13. The assembly setforth in claim 10 wherein said second translatingmeans includes linkage means connected to said movable carry-over barmeans, drive means, short stroke means coupled to said drive means forreciprocal movement through a first stroke and long stroke means coupledto said drive means for reciprocal movement through a substantiallylonger stroke,

said switching means being operative for selectively connecting one ofsaid short stroke means or long stroke means to said linkage means.

14. The assembly set forth in claim 13 wherein said second inlet meansis elevated relative to said first inlet means, each of said receivingmeans being inclined downwardly and having a product receiving pocket atits lower end, the receiving pocket of said second inlet means beingdisposed generally above the holding pocket of said first inlet means.

15. The assembly set forth in claim 14 wherein said switching meansincludes a movable element having a first position for engaging saidshort stroke means and a second position for engaging said long strokemeans, and means for selectively moving said element between its firstand second positions.

16. The assembly set forth in claim 15 wherein movement of said movablecarry-over bar means through said incremental distance being sufficientto move said carry-over ba'r means through said first product receivingmeans for removing products therefrom and insufficient to move throughsaid second product receiving means, movement of said movable carry-overbar through said second distance being sufficient to move said movablecarry-over bar means through each of said receiving means for removingproducts therefrom. 17. A cooling bed assembly including an inlet forreceiving in sequence a plurality of elongate metallic products,

stacking means for orienting said products into a stack,

first transfer means operative for moving said stack from an inlet to anoutlet spaced from said inlet, and unstacking means disposed at saidoutlet for sequentially removing said products from said stack,

second transfer means disposed at said outlet for conducting productsaway from said assembly, said unstacking means including receiving meansfor receiving said stack of products and product engaging means forsequentially moving said products to said second transfer means, saidfirst transfer means includes movable carry-over bar means and aplurality of stationary carry-over bar means disposed in generalparallelism with each of said movable carry-over bar means, operatingmeans for moving said movable carry-over bar means through said inletmeans for removing products therefrom and for successively moving saidproducts along said stationary carry-over bar means and in substantiallyequal increments toward said second transfer means, said operating meansincludes first translating means for elevating said movable carryoverbar means vertically and second translating means for. simultaneouslymoving said movable carry-over bar means horizontally, switching meanscoupled to said second translating means and having first and secondpositions, said switching means being operative when in said firstposition tocouple said second translating means for moving saidcarry-over bar through a first distance anda second position forcoupling said translating means for moving said movable carry-over barmeans through a greater distance, and means for selectively actuatingsaid switching means between its first and second positions.

18. The apparatus set forth in'claim 1 7 and wherein said firstcarry-over bar means isoperative for moving said products to said secondtransfer means, said re ceiving means normally being disposed in aninoperative position to permit the movement of products by saidcarry-over bar means to said second transfer means, means for movingsaid receiving means into an operative position for receiving saidproducts from said first carry-over bar means, said receiving meansdisposed when in its operative position to receive said products fromsaid first carry-over bar means upon movement of said products throughthe last of said incremental movements.

19. The apparatus set forth in claim 18 wherein said product engagingmeans includes arm means cyclically movable through an are whichintersects a marginally disposed product in said stack for moving thesame to said second transfer means.

20. The apparatus set forth in claim 19 and including pivotally mountedmeans for supporting said receiving means, operator means for pivotingsaid receiving means between its operative and inoperative positions,said receiving means being oriented at an angle, said arm meansincluding a pair of oppositely extending arms having product engagingmeans on the ends thereof, and means for rotating said arm means forsequentially engaging and removing the lowermost product in the stack onsaid holding means.

21. The apparatus set forth in claim 20 and including arcuate deflectingmeans coupled to said receiving means and movable therewith in positionto receive products removed from said stack by said arm means and fordirecting said products onto said second transfer means.

22. The assembly set forth in claim 21 wherein said inlet means includesrun-in means each adapted to receive said products, elongate holdingmeans extending in a direction generally parallel to the direction ofproduct movement and adapted to receive and hold said products, andkick-off means adapted to receive said products from said run-in meansand for selectively moving said products to its associated holdingmeans, said first carry-over bar means member being movable relative tosaid holding means for removing said products therefrom.

23. The assembly set forth in claim 22 wherein said holding means has anopening formed therein, said stacking means includes plunger meansmounted for movement in a direction generally normal to and in a pathwhich intersects said holding means and passes through said opening forreorienting an elongate generally flat product in said holding meansonto one edge, means for successively changing the inclination of saidplunger means through successive predetermined angles relative to saidholding means for reorienting successive products received therein ontotheir respective edges to form a stack.

24. The assembly set forth in claim 23 wherein said run-in meansincludes roller means mounted for rotation about axes generally parallelto each other and extending generally in said one direction, saidholding means being generally elevated relative to said rollers, saidkick-off means having a first position adjacent the rollers of itsassociated run-in table means for receiving products therefrom and beingelevatable to a second position adjacent said holding means fordelivering said products thereto.

25. In combination, a cooling bed assembly for simultaneously receivinga pair of elongate products from a rolling mill and for displacing saidproducts in one direction,

first inlet means having first holding means for receiving a first oneof said products, second inlet means having second holding meansdisposed adjacent said first holding means for receiving a second one ofsaid products,

discharge means separated from each of said first and second inletmeans,

transfer means for removing said products from said holding means andsimultaneously moving said products in one direction and from said firstand second inlet means to said discharge means, and control meansoperative to sense the distance between said products delivered to saidfirst and second holding means and for delaying the operation of saidtransfer means until products are disposed in each of said receivingmeans unless said distance exceeds a predetermined amount.

26. The assembly set forth in claim 25 wherein said control meansincludes logic means, product detector means disposed in each of saidfirst and second inlet means and each being operative to provide asignal to said logic circuit means when a product reaches apredetermined position in its respective inlet means whereby said logiccircuit means can determine the time lapse between which products insaid first and second inlet means are in a position to be removed bysaid transfer means, said logic means being operative to effect theremoval of the first one of said products to be received when said timelapse is greater than that which would permit said transfer means toremove products from said first and secondholding means withoutinterference by succeeding products, and for removing said products fromboth of said holding means when said time lapse is within predeterminedlimits.

27. The claim set forth in claim 26 and including time delay means, saidtime delay means being operative to reset said logic means fordetermining the time lapse of successive products after said logic meanshas actuated said transfer means to remove the first one of saidproducts.

28. The assembly set forth in claim 27 and wherein said transfer meansis operative to move said products in a step-by-step manner throughsubstantially equal increments between said inlet means and saiddischarge means, adjusting means operative to adjust the length of saidsteps for a first incremental distance when products are received onlyat said first inlet means and for moving said members through a seconddistance sub stantially twice said incremental step when productsreceived at each of said first and second inlet means.

29. The assembly set forth in claim 26 wherein each of said first andsecond inlet means includes run-in means each adapted to receive saidproducts, and kickoff means adapted to receive said products from saidrun-in means and for selectively moving said products to its associatedholding means, said transfer means includes carry-over means movablerelative to each of said holding means for removing said productstherefrom, and operating means for actuating said carryover means, saidlogic means being operative to actuate said operating means.

30. The assembly set forth in claim 29 wherein said transfer meansincludes movable carry-over means,

movement of said movable carry-over means through said increments beingsufficient to move said carryover means through said first holding meansfor removing products therefrom and insufficient to move through saidsecond holding means, movement of said movable carry-over bar throughsaid second distance being sufficient to move said movable carry-overbar means through each of said holding means for removing productstherefrom.

31. The assembly set forth in claim 30 wherein each of said holdingmeans being generally elevated relative to the rollers of of itsassociated run-in means, each of said kick-off means includes rollermeans and elevatable means disposed adjacent its associated roller meansand movable to a first position for receiving said products from saidroller means and being elevatable to a second position to discharge saidproducts onto said holding means, said logic means-being operative toactuate said operating means-to effect the removal of one product fromeach holding means before said elevatable means discharges a succeedingproduct onto said holding means.

32. The assembly set forth in claim 31 wherein said second inlet meansis elevated relative to said first inlet means, each of said holdingmeans being inclined downwardly and having a product receiving pocket atits lower end, the receiving pocket of said second inlet means beingdisposed generally above the holding pocket of said first inlet means.

33. The assembly set forth in claim 30 wherein said operating meansincludes first translating means for elevating said movable carry-overbar means vertically and second translating means for simultaneouslymoving said movable carry-over bar means horizontally, switching meanscoupled to said second translating means and having first and secondpositions, said switching means being operative when in said firstposition to couple said second translating means for moving saidcarry-over bar through a first distance and a second position forcoupling said translating means for moving said movable carry-over barmeans through a greater distance, and means for selectively actuatingsaidswitching means between its first and second positions.

34. The assembly set forth in claim 33 wherein said second translatingmeans includes linkage means connected to said movable carry-over barmeans, drive means, short stroke means coupled to said drive means forreciprocal movement through a first stroke and long stroke means coupledto said drive means for reciprocal movement through a substantiallylonger stroke, said switching means being operative for selectivelyconnecting one of said short stroke means or long stroke means to saidlinkage means.

35. The assembly set forth in claim 34 wherein said switching meansincludes a movable element having a first position for engaging saidshort stroke means and a second position for engaging said long strokemeans, and means for selectively moving said element between its firstand second positions.

36. A cooling bed assembly including an inlet for sequentially receivinga plurality of elongate metallic products,

selectively operable stacking means for orienting products received insaid inlet into a stack, first transfer means operative for removingproducts singly or in a stack from said inlet and for progressivelymoving said products singly or in said stack from said inlet to anoutlet spaced from said inlet, second transfer means disposed at saidoutlet for conducting products away from said assembly, and unstackingmeans disposed adjacent said outlet and including receiving means forreceiving said stack of products and product engaging means for se-'quentially moving said products to said second transfer means, saidreceiving means-normally being in an inoperative position remote fromthe path of said products in moving between said inlet and outlet topermit the movement of single products to said outlet and means formoving said unstacking means into an operative position along said pathfor receiving a stack of products from said first transfer means andprior to movem'entof said products to said outlet.

37. The apparatus set forth in claim 36 wherein said first transfermeans is operative for moving said products in a step-by-step manner insubstantially equal increments between said inlet and outlet means, saidreceiving means being disposed when in its operative position to receivesaid products from said first transfer means upon movement of saidproducts through the last of said incremental movements, said receivingmeans being incapable of receiving said products when in its inoperativeposition.

38. The apparatus set forth in claim 37 wherein said product engagingmeans including arm means cyclically movable through an arc whichintersects a marginally disposed product in said stack for sequentiallyremoving products from said stack and moving the same to said secondtransfer means.

39. The apparatus set forth in claim 38 and including pivotally mountedmeans for supporting said receiving means, operator means for pivotingsaid receiving means between its operative and inoperative positions,said receiving means being oriented at an angle, said arm meansincluding a pair of oppositely extending arms having product engagingmeans on the ends thereof, and means for rotating said arm means forsequentially engaging and removing the lowermost product in the stack onsaid holding means.

40. The apparatus set forth in claim 39 and including arcuate deflectingmeans coupled to said receiving means and movable therewith into aposition to receive products removed from said stack by said arm meansand for directing said products onto said second transfer means.

41. The assembly set forth in claim 40 wherein said inlet means includeselongate run-in means adapted to receive said products and elongateholding means disposed adjacent to and extending in a directiongenerally parallel to said run-in means, and kick-off means disposedadjacent said run-in and holding means for receiving said products fromsaid run-in means and for selectively moving said products to itsassociated holding means, said first transfer means being movablerelative to said holding means for removing said products therefrom.

42. The assembly set forth in claim 41 wherein said first transfer meansis operative to move said products in a step-by-step manner throughsubstantially equal increments between said inlet means and said secondtransfer means, and adjusting means operative to vary the incrementallength of each step to simultaneously vary the distance that productsare moved from said

1. A cooling bed assembLy for simultaneously moving a plurality ofelongate metallic products in a first direction, first inlet meansextending in a second direction generally normal to said first directionand disposed for receiving from a rolling mill a first one of saidproducts and including first holding means for holding a receivedproduct, second inlet means extending generally in said second directionand disposed adjacent said first inlet means for receiving from saidrolling mill a second one of said products and including second holdingmeans spaced from said first holding means for holding a receivedproduct, discharge means spaced in said first direction from each ofsaid first and second inlet means, transfer means for simultaneouslymoving said products in said first direction and from said first andsecond inlet means to said discharge means, said transfer meansincluding spaced apart product support means each being movable relativeto said first and second holding means for simultaneously removing oneof said products from each of said first and second holding means andfor moving said simultaneously removed products in spaced relation andin said first direction towards said discharge means.
 2. The assemblyset forth in claim 1 wherein said transfer means includes translatingmeans operative to move said products in first or second incrementalsteps between said inlet means and said discharge means, operating meanscoupled to said translating means and selectively operable for movingsaid translating means in said first or second incremental distances,said translating means being movable relative to said first and secondholding means, said translating means being effective for removingproducts from said first holding means and ineffective for removingproducts from said second holding means when moved through said firstincremental distances and said translating means being effective forremoving products from both said first and second holding means whenmoved through said second incremental distances.
 3. The assembly setforth in claim 2 wherein said transfer means includes a plurality ofgenerally parallel movable carry-over bar means, said spaced apartproduct support means comprising notches formed thereon and a pluralityof stationary carry-over bar means disposed in general parallelism withsaid movable carry-over bar means and having material supporting notchesformed thereon.
 4. The assembly set forth in claim 2 wherein each ofsaid first and second inlet means includes elongate run-in means eachadapted to receive said products, and kick-off means disposed betweenits respective run-in means and holding means for receiving saidproducts from said run-in means and for selectively moving said productsto its associated holding means, .
 5. The assembly set forth in claim 4,wherein each of said run-in means includes roller means mounted forrotation about axes generally parallel to each other and extendinggenerally in said one direction, each of said holding means beinggenerally elevated relative to the rollers of its associated run-inmeans, each of said kick-off means including elevatable means having afirst position adjacent the rollers of its associated run-in means forreceiving products therefrom and each being elevatable to a secondposition adjacent its associated holding means for delivering saidproducts thereto.
 6. The assembly set forth in claim 5 wherein saidsecond inlet means is elevated relative to said first inlet means, eachof said holding means being inclined downwardly and has a productreceiving pocket at its lower end, the product receiving pocket of saidsecond holding means being disposed generally above the holding pocketof said first holding means.
 7. The assembly set forth in claim 1wherein said transfer means includes first and second producttranslating means each having a product support surface formed thereon,operating means coupled to at least one of said product translatingmeans for moving said oNe product translating means relative to theother and in a path which displaces its product support surface in aclosed loop lying in a plane generally normal to said one direction withportions of said loop being disposed above and below the level of thesupporting surface of the other of said other product translating means,said spaced apart product support means being formed on said one producttranslating means and movable therewith to displace products from saidfirst and second holding means and for disposing said products on theproduct support surface of said second product translating means, themovement of said first product translating means in said path beingoperative to advance said products in a step-by-step manner across saidsecond product translating means and to move the same onto saiddischarge means.
 8. The assembly set forth in claim 7 and includingadjusting means coupled to said operating means for adjusting themovement of said first product translating means in the horizontal axisof said loop whereby said first product translating means will movethrough a first incremental distance for removing a product from saidfirst inlet means but at a distance insufficient to remove a productfrom said second inlet means when a product is disposed in said firstholding means only, said adjusting means being operative to increase thehorizontal dimension of said loop so that when a product is disposed inthe holding means of each of said first and second inlet, the firstproduct translating means will be moved a greater incremental distancewhereby products may be removed from said first and second inlet means.9. The assembly set forth in claim 8 wherein said second inlet means iselevated relative to said first inlet means, each of said holding meansbeing inclined downwardly and having a product receiving pocket at itslower end, the product receiving pocket of said second holding meansbeing disposed generally above the holding pocket of said first holdingmeans.
 10. A cooling bed assembly for simultaneously displacing aplurality of elongate metallic products, first inlet means disposed forreceiving from a rolling mill a first one of said products, second inletmeans disposed adjacent said first inlet means for receiving from saidrolling mill a second one of said products, discharge means separatedfrom each of said first and second inlet means, transfer means includinga plurality of generally parallel movable carry-over bar means forsimultaneously moving said products in a step-by-step manner throughsubstantially equal increments in one direction and from said inlet tosaid discharge means, said carry-over bar means having spaced apartnotches formed thereon and movable relative to said first and secondinlet means for removing said products from said first and second inletmeans and for moving said products in spaced relation and in said onedirection towards said discharge means, a plurality of stationarycarry-over bar means disposed in general paralleliism with said movablecarry-over bar means and having material supporting notches formedthereon, adjusting means operative to vary the incremental length ofsaid steps to simultaneously vary the distance that each of saidproducts is moved from said first and second inlet means to saiddischarge means, said transfer means including operating means coupledto said movable carry-over bar means and having first translating meansfor elevating said movable carry-over bar means vertically and secondtranslating means for simultaneously moving said movable carry-over barmeans horizontally, said adjusting means including switching meanscoupled to said second translating means and having first and secondpositions, said switching means being operative when in said firstposition to couple said second translating means for moving saidcarry-over bar means through said incremental distance and a secondposition for coupling said translating means for moving said movableCarry-over bar means through said second distance, and means forselectively actuating said switching means between its first and secondpositions.
 11. The assembly set forth in claim 10 wherein each of saidfirst and second inlet means includes run-in means each adapted toreceive said products, receiving means adapted to receive and hold saidproducts, and kick-off means adapted to receive said products from saidrun-in means and for selectively moving said products to its associatedreceiving means, said movable carry-over bar means being movablerelative to said receiving means for removing said products therefrom.12. The assembly set forth in claim 11 wherein each of said run-in meansincludes roller means mounted for rotation about axes generally parallelto each other and extending generally in said one direction, each ofsaid receiving means being disposed adjacent to the roller of itsassociated run-in means, each of said kick-off means having elevatablemeans disposed adjacent its associated roller means and having a firstposition for receiving said products from said roller means and beingelevatable to a second position to discharge said products onto saidreceiving means.
 13. The assembly set forth in claim 10 wherein saidsecond translating means includes linkage means connected to saidmovable carry-over bar means, drive means, short stroke means coupled tosaid drive means for reciprocal movement through a first stroke and longstroke means coupled to said drive means for reciprocal movement througha substantially longer stroke, said switching means being operative forselectively connecting one of said short stroke means or long strokemeans to said linkage means.
 14. The assembly set forth in claim 13wherein said second inlet means is elevated relative to said first inletmeans, each of said receiving means being inclined downwardly and havinga product receiving pocket at its lower end, the receiving pocket ofsaid second inlet means being disposed generally above the holdingpocket of said first inlet means.
 15. The assembly set forth in claim 14wherein said switching means includes a movable element having a firstposition for engaging said short stroke means and a second position forengaging said long stroke means, and means for selectively moving saidelement between its first and second positions.
 16. The assembly setforth in claim 15 wherein movement of said movable carry-over bar meansthrough said incremental distance being sufficient to move saidcarry-over bar means through said first product receiving means forremoving products therefrom and insufficient to move through said secondproduct receiving means, movement of said movable carry-over bar throughsaid second distance being sufficient to move said movable carry-overbar means through each of said receiving means for removing productstherefrom.
 17. A cooling bed assembly including an inlet for receivingin sequence a plurality of elongate metallic products, stacking meansfor orienting said products into a stack, first transfer means operativefor moving said stack from an inlet to an outlet spaced from said inlet,and unstacking means disposed at said outlet for sequentially removingsaid products from said stack, second transfer means disposed at saidoutlet for conducting products away from said assembly, said unstackingmeans including receiving means for receiving said stack of products andproduct engaging means for sequentially moving said products to saidsecond transfer means, said first transfer means includes movablecarry-over bar means and a plurality of stationary carry-over bar meansdisposed in general parallelism with each of said movable carry-over barmeans, operating means for moving said movable carry-over bar meansthrough said inlet means for removing products therefrom and forsuccessively moving said products along said stationary carry-over barmeans and in substantially equal increments toward said second Transfermeans, said operating means includes first translating means forelevating said movable carry-over bar means vertically and secondtranslating means for simultaneously moving said movable carry-over barmeans horizontally, switching means coupled to said second translatingmeans and having first and second positions, said switching means beingoperative when in said first position to couple said second translatingmeans for moving said carry-over bar through a first distance and asecond position for coupling said translating means for moving saidmovable carry-over bar means through a greater distance, and means forselectively actuating said switching means between its first and secondpositions.
 18. The apparatus set forth in claim 17 and wherein saidfirst carry-over bar means is operative for moving said products to saidsecond transfer means, said receiving means normally being disposed inan inoperative position to permit the movement of products by saidcarry-over bar means to said second transfer means, means for movingsaid receiving means into an operative position for receiving saidproducts from said first carry-over bar means, said receiving meansdisposed when in its operative position to receive said products fromsaid first carry-over bar means upon movement of said products throughthe last of said incremental movements.
 19. The apparatus set forth inclaim 18 wherein said product engaging means includes arm meanscyclically movable through an arc which intersects a marginally disposedproduct in said stack for moving the same to said second transfer means.20. The apparatus set forth in claim 19 and including pivotally mountedmeans for supporting said receiving means, operator means for pivotingsaid receiving means between its operative and inoperative positions,said receiving means being oriented at an angle, said arm meansincluding a pair of oppositely extending arms having product engagingmeans on the ends thereof, and means for rotating said arm means forsequentially engaging and removing the lowermost product in the stack onsaid holding means.
 21. The apparatus set forth in claim 20 andincluding arcuate deflecting means coupled to said receiving means andmovable therewith in position to receive products removed from saidstack by said arm means and for directing said products onto said secondtransfer means.
 22. The assembly set forth in claim 21 wherein saidinlet means includes run-in means each adapted to receive said products,elongate holding means extending in a direction generally parallel tothe direction of product movement and adapted to receive and hold saidproducts, and kick-off means adapted to receive said products from saidrun-in means and for selectively moving said products to its associatedholding means, said first carry-over bar means member being movablerelative to said holding means for removing said products therefrom. 23.The assembly set forth in claim 22 wherein said holding means has anopening formed therein, said stacking means includes plunger meansmounted for movement in a direction generally normal to and in a pathwhich intersects said holding means and passes through said opening forreorienting an elongate generally flat product in said holding meansonto one edge, means for successively changing the inclination of saidplunger means through successive predetermined angles relative to saidholding means for reorienting successive products received therein ontotheir respective edges to form a stack.
 24. The assembly set forth inclaim 23 wherein said run-in means includes roller means mounted forrotation about axes generally parallel to each other and extendinggenerally in said one direction, said holding means being generallyelevated relative to said rollers, said kick-off means having a firstposition adjacent the rollers of its associated run-in table means forreceiving products therefrom and being elevatable to a second positionadjacent said holding means for deliveRing said products thereto.
 25. Incombination, a cooling bed assembly for simultaneously receiving a pairof elongate products from a rolling mill and for displacing saidproducts in one direction, first inlet means having first holding meansfor receiving a first one of said products, second inlet means havingsecond holding means disposed adjacent said first holding means forreceiving a second one of said products, discharge means separated fromeach of said first and second inlet means, transfer means for removingsaid products from said holding means and simultaneously moving saidproducts in one direction and from said first and second inlet means tosaid discharge means, and control means operative to sense the distancebetween said products delivered to said first and second holding meansand for delaying the operation of said transfer means until products aredisposed in each of said receiving means unless said distance exceeds apredetermined amount.
 26. The assembly set forth in claim 25 whereinsaid control means includes logic means, product detector means disposedin each of said first and second inlet means and each being operative toprovide a signal to said logic circuit means when a product reaches apredetermined position in its respective inlet means whereby said logiccircuit means can determine the time lapse between which products insaid first and second inlet means are in a position to be removed bysaid transfer means, said logic means being operative to effect theremoval of the first one of said products to be received when said timelapse is greater than that which would permit said transfer means toremove products from said first and second holding means withoutinterference by succeeding products, and for removing said products fromboth of said holding means when said time lapse is within predeterminedlimits.
 27. The claim set forth in claim 26 and including time delaymeans, said time delay means being operative to reset said logic meansfor determining the time lapse of successive products after said logicmeans has actuated said transfer means to remove the first one of saidproducts.
 28. The assembly set forth in claim 27 and wherein saidtransfer means is operative to move said products in a step-by-stepmanner through substantially equal increments between said inlet meansand said discharge means, adjusting means operative to adjust the lengthof said steps for a first incremental distance when products arereceived only at said first inlet means and for moving said membersthrough a second distance substantially twice said incremental step whenproducts received at each of said first and second inlet means.
 29. Theassembly set forth in claim 26 wherein each of said first and secondinlet means includes run-in means each adapted to receive said products,and kick-off means adapted to receive said products from said run-inmeans and for selectively moving said products to its associated holdingmeans, said transfer means includes carry-over means movable relative toeach of said holding means for removing said products therefrom, andoperating means for actuating said carry-over means, said logic meansbeing operative to actuate said operating means.
 30. The assembly setforth in claim 29 wherein said transfer means includes movablecarry-over means, movement of said movable carry-over means through saidincrements being sufficient to move said carry-over means through saidfirst holding means for removing products therefrom and insufficient tomove through said second holding means, movement of said movablecarry-over bar through said second distance being sufficient to movesaid movable carry-over bar means through each of said holding means forremoving products therefrom.
 31. The assembly set forth in claim 30wherein each of said holding means being generally elevated relative tothe rollers of of its associated run-in means, each of said kick-offmeans includes roller means and elevataBle means disposed adjacent itsassociated roller means and movable to a first position for receivingsaid products from said roller means and being elevatable to a secondposition to discharge said products onto said holding means, said logicmeans being operative to actuate said operating means to effect theremoval of one product from each holding means before said elevatablemeans discharges a succeeding product onto said holding means.
 32. Theassembly set forth in claim 31 wherein said second inlet means iselevated relative to said first inlet means, each of said holding meansbeing inclined downwardly and having a product receiving pocket at itslower end, the receiving pocket of said second inlet means beingdisposed generally above the holding pocket of said first inlet means.33. The assembly set forth in claim 30 wherein said operating meansincludes first translating means for elevating said movable carry-overbar means vertically and second translating means for simultaneouslymoving said movable carry-over bar means horizontally, switching meanscoupled to said second translating means and having first and secondpositions, said switching means being operative when in said firstposition to couple said second translating means for moving saidcarry-over bar through a first distance and a second position forcoupling said translating means for moving said movable carry-over barmeans through a greater distance, and means for selectively actuatingsaid switching means between its first and second positions.
 34. Theassembly set forth in claim 33 wherein said second translating meansincludes linkage means connected to said movable carry-over bar means,drive means, short stroke means coupled to said drive means forreciprocal movement through a first stroke and long stroke means coupledto said drive means for reciprocal movement through a substantiallylonger stroke, said switching means being operative for selectivelyconnecting one of said short stroke means or long stroke means to saidlinkage means.
 35. The assembly set forth in claim 34 wherein saidswitching means includes a movable element having a first position forengaging said short stroke means and a second position for engaging saidlong stroke means, and means for selectively moving said element betweenits first and second positions.
 36. A cooling bed assembly including aninlet for sequentially receiving a plurality of elongate metallicproducts, selectively operable stacking means for orienting productsreceived in said inlet into a stack, first transfer means operative forremoving products singly or in a stack from said inlet and forprogressively moving said products singly or in said stack from saidinlet to an outlet spaced from said inlet, second transfer meansdisposed at said outlet for conducting products away from said assembly,and unstacking means disposed adjacent said outlet and includingreceiving means for receiving said stack of products and productengaging means for sequentially moving said products to said secondtransfer means, said receiving means normally being in an inoperativeposition remote from the path of said products in moving between saidinlet and outlet to permit the movement of single products to saidoutlet and means for moving said unstacking means into an operativeposition along said path for receiving a stack of products from saidfirst transfer means and prior to movement of said products to saidoutlet.
 37. The apparatus set forth in claim 36 wherein said firsttransfer means is operative for moving said products in a step-by-stepmanner in substantially equal increments between said inlet and outletmeans, said receiving means being disposed when in its operativeposition to receive said products from said first transfer means uponmovement of said products through the last of said incrementalmovements, said receiving means being incapable of receiving saidproducts when in its inoperative position.
 38. The aPparatus set forthin claim 37 wherein said product engaging means including arm meanscyclically movable through an arc which intersects a marginally disposedproduct in said stack for sequentially removing products from said stackand moving the same to said second transfer means.
 39. The apparatus setforth in claim 38 and including pivotally mounted means for supportingsaid receiving means, operator means for pivoting said receiving meansbetween its operative and inoperative positions, said receiving meansbeing oriented at an angle, said arm means including a pair ofoppositely extending arms having product engaging means on the endsthereof, and means for rotating said arm means for sequentially engagingand removing the lowermost product in the stack on said holding means.40. The apparatus set forth in claim 39 and including arcuate deflectingmeans coupled to said receiving means and movable therewith into aposition to receive products removed from said stack by said arm meansand for directing said products onto said second transfer means.
 41. Theassembly set forth in claim 40 wherein said inlet means includeselongate run-in means adapted to receive said products and elongateholding means disposed adjacent to and extending in a directiongenerally parallel to said run-in means, and kick-off means disposedadjacent said run-in and holding means for receiving said products fromsaid run-in means and for selectively moving said products to itsassociated holding means, said first transfer means being movablerelative to said holding means for removing said products therefrom. 42.The assembly set forth in claim 41 wherein said first transfer means isoperative to move said products in a step-by-step manner throughsubstantially equal increments between said inlet means and said secondtransfer means, and adjusting means operative to vary the incrementallength of each step to simultaneously vary the distance that productsare moved from said first and second inlet means to said second transfermeans.
 43. The assembly set forth in claim 42 wherein said firsttransfer means includes movable carry-over bar means and stationarycarry-over bar means disposed in general parallelism with said movablecarry-over bar means, operating means for moving said movable carry-overbar means through said inlet for removing and for progressively movingsaid products along said stationary carry-over bar means and in astep-by-step manner toward said second transfer means, said operatingmeans includes first translating means for elevating said movablecarry-over bar means vertically and second translating means forsimultaneously moving said movable carry-over bar means horizontally,switching means coupled to said second translating means and havingfirst and second positions, said switching means being operative when insaid first position to couple said second translating means for movingsaid carry-over bar through a first distance and a second position forcoupling said translating means for moving said movable carry-over barmeans through a greater distance, and means for selectively actuatingsaid switching means between its first and second positions.
 44. Theassembly set forth in claim 43 wherein said second translating meansincludes linkage means connected to said movable carry-over bar means,drive means, short stroke means coupled to said drive means forreciprocal movement through a first stroke and long stroke means coupledto said drive means for reciprocal movement through a substantiallylonger stroke, said switching means being operative for selectivelyconnecting one of said short stroke means or long stroke means to saidlinkage means.
 45. The assembly set forth in claim 44 wherein saidswitching means includes a movable element having a first position forengaging said short stroke means and a second position for engaging saidlong stroke means, and means for selectively moving said element betweenits first and second positions. >